The new year had started on a very sad note; another very sad phone call concerning a tiny dog apparently dumped in a big city park. “She really looks sad, lonely, and frightened. Have you got time to come out here?” How could I refuse. “I’ll be right there.”

And when I got there, she immediately broke my heart. She was forlornly sitting there at a snow-covered baseball diamond, trembling uncontrollably, and so very sadly watching numerous people who were very happily walking their happy canines all about.

“When we first spotted her, she was frantically racing all around the park, as if she were looking for someone. Now, she’s just been sitting there, as if she’s given up.”

I slowly approached her, and she didn’t move a muscle. So I bent down and I softly stroked her furry little head. And now, she very sadly looked up into my eyes with the saddest pair of canine eyes that I had ever seen. Definitely dumped here by someone, I thought to myself.

She didn’t protest or attempt to run off when I put a lead around her neck, and now I saw what extremely terrible shape she was in. Her fur was extremely matted and filthy, and gobs of frozen feces clung to her tiny backside. She was so matted up and covered in caked-up poop that she couldn’t even lift her tiny tail from between her grossly matted legs.

As I led her away, several people asked me what I would do with her now. “This poor little girl definitely needs some TLC and a hot soapy bath.” And soon, she and I were on our way to my vet’s office. As I drove there, she quickly crawled into my lap for some extra warmth, and she finally stopped trembling.

At the vet’s office, they took one look at her and said “Poor little thing! She’s definitely had a very rough time of it. What will you call her?” And I soon replied, ‘Little Pooh.’

Of course she had no collar, no tags, and no micro-chip. Dumped dogs usually don’t; and, of course, she had not been spayed. I spent several days attempting to determine if anyone were looking for her; and of course, no one was.

Little Pooh now spent the next week at the animal hospital being cared for, fed, shaved, bathed, spayed, and vaccinated. When my wife and I went to pick her up, I didn’t even recognize her; she looked completely different, and much happier, than when I had first seen her in the park.

As we drove home, Little Pooh clung to my wife’s chest very closely, and she kept kissing my wife’s cheek. And now, her tiny little shaved tail was even wagging with joy.

When we arrived back home, our other rescued street orphans immediately took a liking to her, and she to them, and she was soon very happily cavorting about with them in our backyard.

One of our neighbors eventually arrived to take a look at her, and she soon shouted “Oh, My God! A Little Poodle! My best friend and her husband recently lost their beloved 16-year old poodle, and they’ve been looking for another one!”

Very soon, our neighbor’s friends arrived at our home, and it was definitely love at first sight, for both of them, and for Little Pooh. She very quickly had a loving new home.

My favorite kind of story too-one with a truely happy ending. i live in the in the country, where too many (more than one) dogs are thoughtlessly dumped to fend for themselves until the end...alone and fearful. what sadness. my thanks for the work and sacrifice you do-